Crazy Eights
by Cearta Day
Summary: Nothing's crazier than being a Chosen Child. Get ready for unseen moments and forgotten tales. Another series of one-shots going from A to Z but now focused on the Original eight Chosen Children!
1. All My Best Friends

Summary: Another series of one-shots going from A to Z but now focused on the Original eight Chosen Children!

Name of this chapter comes from the song All My Best Friends are Metal Heads by Less Than Jake which is of course on the Digimon the Movie soundtrack and of course I don't own.

School's started and my first writing assignment (excluding summer homework) was to write a narrative. Normally I could do that no problem, but I was kind of lacking inspiration and figured the only way to get inspired was to go back to a time when I wrote 24/7, and what was one thing created during that time? My digimon story Six of a Kind! Which is why I'm inspiring myself by using the same format on the Original Chosen, but no worries, these will be a totally different and new set of one-shots.

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All My Best Friends

After spending a whole day kicking around a soccer ball, running around to different shops in Tokyo, and snoozing in the park, Tai, Matt, Sora, and Izzy finally remembered the whole reason they were together: tomorrow's dreaded science test (which the younger but too-smart-for-his-own-good Izzy was helping the others study for). They should've known their plan for an all-day cram session didn't stand a chance of actually happening.

As soon as they arrived at Sora's place, they buckled down and each took a corner of the Great Room to study on their own deciding that working together would just cause distraction. The only problem was that Tai didn't need anyone but himself to get distracted.

The bushy-haired brunette lay in the window sill in his corner of the room by the fireplace, glancing over the pictures in his textbook, skimming a few facts, but absorbed nothing as his mind drifted back to the wonderfulness of the rest of the day. His friends and him argued over what to do, what to eat, and every shop they dragged each other into, not to mention every item in those stores and a few words said simply as a jab at one another. They had spent a whole day together and didn't always get along which served to prove how different the four of them were. Tai goes right, Sora goes left. Izzy says yes, Matt says no. Tai's sports, Matt's music. Izzy's logic, Sora's impulse. Nothing added up to this group of people voluntarily being together.

Yet when they finally ended up back at the park, relaxing under a cherry blossom tree he couldn't help but think that there wasn't anyone else he would have rather spent the day with.

"Isn't that weird?" Tai thought aloud

Izzy didn't even look up from his book. "Well atoms are unbelievable, but I wouldn't say weird is the right word. Maybe remarkable… or prodigious?"

"No, not science!" Tai said, "The Chosen Children! I mean, yeah, we have to save the world together and stuff, but we don't need to hang out all the time. I spend more time with you guys than my soccer team. It's strange that different people can all get along. Other people must think we're an odd bunch."

"Since when do you care what everyone else thinks?" Sora asked.

Matt squinted. "Since when do we all get along?"

Izzy set down his textbook on the couch. "Tai, though it's a rare phenomenon it's not unheard of for children to jump around and associate with different social groups, especially after going through traumatic experiences such as the ones we went through together."

"We're not in the Digital World anymore." Tai smacked his textbook. "There's nothing too traumatic about science that we can't handle on our own."

"Speak for yourself," Sora called across the room from her spot perched on top of the refrigerator (something she can never do with her mother in the room).

"Oh please," Matt said and flipped another page of his textbook. "Tai and I are much more likely to fail this than you, Miss Overachiever."

She folded her arms but didn't deny the claim. She definitely had much higher standards for herself than Tai and Matt did for themselves. "What about you? You got a 97% on our last big test."

Tai's eyes grew wide. An epiphany was upon him. "See! It's stuff like that!"

Sora blinked, leaning back on the wall behind the fridge. "Like what?"

"That you actually know his grade! What about Tanya Fisher?"

"What about her?"

Tai pointed across the room at her in an accusatory fashion. "You hang out with her. Do you know her grade in science?"

"…No." She had no idea where he was going with this.

"But you know Matt's. You take the time to care about little things like his grades and my grades and Izzy's… well, if anyone needed to worry about his grades. You care because we're not just friends. We're a team, and not only a soccer team or something but an us-against-the-worlds-look-out-for-each-other team."

Izzy chuckled. "I never thought I'd hear 'only a soccer team' coming from you, but that's quite the analysis, Tai, and I'd have to concur. There's just something about configuring into data and blowing up government missiles that brings people closer together."

Matt stretched his arms while pushing his textbook farther down the kitchen table. "Great we figured something out today, and that's enough of an accomplishment for me. I better get home before dark."

Sora nodded. "We should all get a good night's rest if we want any chance of passing this test."

Tai watched Izzy fumble with the chord for his laptop and Matt absentmindedly fix his hair while Sora climbed down from the fridge. He couldn't help but crack a smile. "Maybe we all need someone different to balance us out."

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Thanks for reading :)


	2. Baby Rebellion

Yeah, I kept debating how to write this. There's also a version of this where you see TK talking to the babies.

Also I've always theorized that the Chosen Children were randomly called back at times to help if only for a couple days or through the computer (like in the movie). This would be taking place in one of those random times.

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Baby Rebellion

With nothing to slow him down except the wind and his glasses, Joe went charging up the hill in hot pursuit. He did stumble, but he got right back up again knowing nothing could get in the way of him and his target: a small, pink Pururumon. The creature hopped in and out of Joe's view as if it were teleporting but still coming back every so often to mock him. Each hop came with a chipper giggle that Joe was sure would be haunting his dreams tonight.

He ran for what felt like hours (but was only really a couple of minutes. You know how Joe is.) to the point where he was eventually trotting, then limping, and finally he leaned his head against the crooked tree this chase had begun at.

Joe massaged his forehead and let himself fall backward into the brush. "Explain to me again how you started a Baby Digimon Rebellion?"

"It's a lot harder than it sounds!" TK shouted from atop one of the many tree branches. Joe tried to identify him among all of the leaves, but his green shirt helped him blend right in. A large thump could be heard followed by shaking and a few leaves floating to the ground. "Pururumon, STOP GOING WHERE I CAN'T FOLLOW!"

Several seconds later the baby digimon hopped down from a tree into the pile of fallen leaves and scurried away but not before sticking his tongue out at Joe. He frowned and adjusted his glasses. "What did you do to them? The babies used to be nice."

"They're still nice," TK said, his voice growing fainter as he climbed higher up in the tree, "I just told them they need to be more independent if they ever want to grow up."

"…They're_ babies_."

"And whose fault is that?" The branches shook again as TK cheered, "Look, another one!"

Joe watched the tree branches continue to twitch as the young blonde climbed even higher. "First, no one's because digimon don't age like humans. They'll be babies until they digivolve. Second, get down here before you fall."

He could just see TK folding his arms. "I'm grown up now too, Joe, and I think I can handle climbing a tree."

The elder paused. Was ten years old really grown up? Maybe around here where you're constantly exposed to fighting, death, and an Elvis monkey …but no, TK was still the youngest Chosen Child to be looked after.

He furrowed his brow and stepped around the tree still trying to spot where his young friend had gone. "Sorry, Kid, but I'm still in charge. Get down before you fall… or get a splinter!"

Choosing to ignore the order, TK instead called down, "Joe, hold your hands out!"

The elder did albeit confused and as he did a sharp yip rang out from TK's tree as a disheveled Yuramon plopped right into Joe's hands. Thinking fast he held the creature tight, so it wouldn't get away.

"Let me go! Freedom! Where's the ice cream?" the creature said as it tried to squirm and shimmy from Joe's tight grasp. It had a small blue face, and its white, wispy fur reminded Joe of a little, old man.

"Oh no, you didn't," Joe groaned. Was it bad that he knew exactly what the Yuramon was talking about? "You promised them independence _and_ ice cream?"

There were a few moments of silence before TK admitted, "The ice cream's what really got them." Joe didn't respond, so TK continued, "I didn't think they'd all run away! I thought they'd move out and get jobs and live in little digimon condos, so Elecmon didn't always have to watch them."

Joe audibly sighed. The kid's heart is always in the right place even if he doesn't think things through. "TK, Elecmon likes watching all the babies."

"Then why does he complain about them?"

He looked up, starting to feel a little silly that this whole conversation he'd been looking at a tree. "…Because that's what you do when you care about someone?"

"Oh," came the short reply, "Okay, if you say so."

Joe wasn't quite sure why but that got a laugh out of him. For being 'grown up' TK still never questioned much. He was in an odd in between stage- they all were- where you think you've grown up yet you don't even know what that means.

The blue-haired boy shook his head, dispelling himself from all the deep thoughts. If he really was still a kid, this wasn't anything he should be worrying about. "Come on, let's get this little guy back to Primary Village."

"Uh," TK started hesitantly, "you go ahead, and could you get Patamon for me?"

"…Why?"

He laughed sheepishly. "I might need some help getting down."

Joe pushed his glasses farther up his nose. "Gee, I would, but you're independent now. I'll let you handle this one on your own."

"What? Wait! Joe... JOE!"

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Thanks for reading!


	3. Circle

Takes place directly after the Baby Rebellion. All of the Chosen were in the Digital World helping.

So I had actually written this chapter first but couldn't post it until we got to C. Not a long one but I didn't want to mess with it considering actually writing this one out is what's forcing me to write all the other letters.

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Circle

Tai gasped in horror causing seven pairs of drooping, tired eyes to widen.

"JOE! How could you?!"

"What?" Joe growled. Normally he wouldn't be so snappy, but it had been a long day that left him with bruised elbows, throbbing feet, and the foresight to never let TK climb a tree without a latter ready.

"You're standing too far out of our group circle," Tai said. "Everyone should be equal distance from the center, AKA Gomamon."

The seal-like digimon laid belly-down on the grass, eyes closed. Knowing Joe must be glaring at him, he defended, "Hey, I rounded up all the aquatic babies. I deserve a break."

"Me too!" Mimi added leaning back on her right foot. "So give your big 'good job today' speech, Tai, so we can all go home."

"I can't; you just made it worse! Now you and Joe are both too far out! Do you know what this means?"

"Your medication isn't working, and you've finally gone insane?" Matt muttered while rubbing his bruised arm from one of today's many mishaps.

With a quick elbow to his best friend's side, Tai answered his own question. "It means this is an oval. An oval! I don't know how to calculate the area of an oval!"

"Oh no," Sora groaned realizing exactly what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Kari asked looking up at the older girl.

Tai continued fixing his perfect circle. "TK, you're standing in line with Sora and Izzy. There are no lines in a circle. Please move back slightly but not enough as to create a point."

Matt rolled not only his eyes but his whole head in exasperation. "You know what this means?"

"What?" Izzy asked.

Sora simply nodded. "He's preparing for the geometry final."

"At least this explains why he insisted we place all the babies we found in two parallel lines." With a smirk, the blonde stepped away from everyone else and plopped on the ground waiting for Tai to realize just how much he had ruined the circle.

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I don't know about you guys, but every group "circle" I'm in is always more oval-ish. Thanks for reading!


	4. Digging

I had one of _those_ days.

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Digging

His teeth roped in his lower lip, and he squeezed while staring at the red ink splattered over almost every question. He should've known. In fact, he had known as soon as the paper touched his desk last Friday that he would fail, and not his dad's definition of failure but the rest of the world's.

"An F, Mr. Kido."

Moisture clouded his vision, and he turned all his attention to keeping the perched tears from rolling down his cheeks. He shouldn't be crying over this. It was just a grade. His dad always said your true love and death are the only reasons a man should cry.

But it wasn't just a grade. It was the one before and the one even before that. One thing led to another, and he understood the material less and less despite trying harder and harder. The teacher didn't expect him to need any help so none was offered. After all he was Joe Kido, he was the smart one.

In reality, he was just the one who worked passed his breaking point and cared far too much.

To think all his years of work could be soiled by a few bad marks. It would all be for nothing: the hours of studying, the few extra minutes spent in the library while everyone else went off to play, the time he'd lost just worrying over his grades. It would be meaningless compared to those kids who were still passing this class. He feared for years they would surpass him, and he'd get lost in the crowd, but did it have to happen now?

Then again, at least he knew to keep his expectations low for the rest of the school year.

Joe furiously rubbed the moisture out of his eyes causing red marks in addition to the indents his glasses caused. He wanted to spit those words out of his vocabulary: low expectations. His father wouldn't settle for that, and Joe wouldn't settle for a disappointed dad.

The bell rang as a reminder of all the time Joe had wasted. He slid from his seat and brought a hand to his greasy, blue hair. He scowled. Yesterday's afternoon spent in the Digital World left no time for proper cleanliness or a studying session.

He took his backpack and wandered through the halls letting his feet decide where his next class was. He honestly couldn't remember. His mind was blank and yet filled to capacity; not one coherent thought could get through his head. He could only feel the pounding of failure, disappointment, and rejection.

He couldn't tell you why he didn't go to his next class. Maybe he didn't want more disappointment today or he needed to be alone.

Or maybe he was just too tired to try anymore.

Joe wandered outside and looked around. He wasn't quite sure what to do, but as long as he wasn't in that building it didn't matter. He caught sight of a shovel leaning abandoned against the school's brick wall.

He let his backpack fall of his shoulders with a loud thud and went stumbling over to the object. It was chipped wood with a dull, metal plate loosely attached to the end, and Joe thought just looking at it could give him a splinter. He picked it up anyway knowing that would be the least of his problems.

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

The voice came out of nowhere startling Joe. He became painfully aware that he wasn't supposed to be there and had half a mind to run or fall to his knees and start begging for mercy, but before deciding on which he locked eyes with the owner of the calm and casual voice.

"…Matt?"

His younger, blond friend mock-pouted. "You have to ask?" He sat about ten feet away leaning on the side of the building. He seemed quite comfortable like he'd been there for awhile. "What's that for? Planning to dig to the other side of the world?"

Joe almost forgot the shovel between his hands in his panic. "Yep, Argentina," he said sarcastically and forced the shovel into the ground.

Matt hesitated eyeing his clearly upset friend and wondering if he should even bring it up.

"Argentina isn't opposite Japan. The Atlantic Ocean is."

He pushed his glasses farther up his nose as he pushed the shovel further into the earth. "Great, I'll go swimming."

"You can't swim, Joe."

"Then what a great learning opportunity this will be!" He took a huge scoop of dirt out of the earth and placed it not even a foot from where he'd just dug it up.

Matt scrunched up his nose. He knew something had to be wrong. Joe of all people didn't skip class, and he certainly didn't do it to play in the dirt. "So," the younger started uneasily, "what happened?"

Joe scowled. Was it really that obvious or did Matt just know him too well? "Nothing, the school's just too stuffy. I don't want my throat getting clogged up."

Matt was about to make a quip about the air outside being just as polluted, but he bit his tongue. His friend didn't need jokes but someone to listen. "Come on, what's the real reason?"

Joe kept his eyes trained on the shovel unsure of which one of them he was admitting this to. "…I failed a test."

"Oh…" Matt meant to go on, but he couldn't. Grades meant a lot to Joe, but Matt didn't worry about them much at all. He couldn't relate.

Joe went on, and the words poured out. "I worried and studied and prayed, but when the test came none of that mattered. I stared at the paper and didn't know anything just like the last test and the quiz before that, and I can't ask the teacher for help because my dad expects me not to need it, and I shouldn't need it. I'm supposed to do well and understand, but I just… don't anymore."

Matt squirmed in his seat. He really didn't know what to say. He scolded himself, _'You've got the crest of friendship, don't you? Well your friend needs you. Do something, anything!'_

He stood up quickly startling Joe. "Let me help." The elder gave him an inquisitive look, but Matt just shrugged. "I mean you're always there for us. Maybe one of us should help you for a change."

Matt gently took the shovel from him and began digging. Joe watched in silence, and the smallest of smiles graced his face. His grades didn't change his friendships or the way they saw him. He was still Joe, and even though he should've already known that it was nice to be reminded. Today had been too much, and he'd snapped, but his friend was there to hold the pieces together.

"You know, Einstein got Fs," Matt said, "That's what my dad told me. He may have disappointed a few teachers and his parents, but that didn't define him because he went on to do a lot of good things…. Maybe you should think about the good things."

Joe tried to respond, but Matt had only paused for a beat before continuing.

"You're always there for all the Chosen Children, and sometimes you're even funny, and you're still smart even if one stupid test says otherwise."

A bit of warmth came to the boy's face from all the flattery. "...Am I really funny?"

"I said _sometimes_," Matt replied quickly, but Joe took it as a compliment all the same.

"Wait a minute," Joe said suddenly, "what are you doing here?"

"I attend school here…"

"Yeah, so why aren't you in class?"

"I'm sick," Matt said as though it were the obvious truth.

He looked his younger friend up and down. "No, you're not."

Matt shrugged like his current health didn't make a difference. "Well the fact those morons can't even maintain a rhythm in Music Class was giving me a migraine."

"Are you talking about Tai?"

Matt thought of his noisy, chaotic class and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Trust me; he's not the worst one."

Joe cringed remembering the awful noise that was Tai with bongos that still haunted his most chaotic nightmares. "It seems like you've been here awhile. Your class is probably over by now. Maybe we should head back."

Matt frowned. "Do you really want to?" His upset friend couldn't be ready to face the school that had just knocked him down already.

"No, but I need to. This was just one bad day, and I can't let that define me." Joe took the shovel and leaned it back on the wall.

"…But do I have to go back?" Matt asked with a bit of a whine.

"Oh come on, it won't kill you." Joe started walking signaling the other to come.

Matt followed reluctantly. "If they cause me to lose all sense of rhythm and/or hearing I blame you."

Joe rolled his eyes with a small smirk. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

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Thank you for reading :)


	5. Essentials

So they're old enough that Matt can drive

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Essentials

"Mimi, you can't really need all this stuff."

The girl in question gave one swift kick to her bulging pink suitcase to finally get it through the van's door. "I've only packed the essentials."

Sora frowned and readjusted the straps to her reasonably-sized red backpack. "We'll only be gone for the weekend. What could you possibly have packed?"

"Just clothes!" Mimi assured. "A few snacks, a camera, Joe's allergy medicine, portable DVD player, electric grill, portable generator for the electric grill, two blenders—"

"Alright, alright! I think you're missing the entire point of camping." Sora took off her backpack and set it in her lap as she got in the van beside Mimi's suitcase. She patted her bag. "Look, all that's in here is a couple sets of clothes and a sleeping bag. Camping is about getting back to the basics so you can really appreciate your surroundings."

"Well if I bring a generator it'll be a part of my surroundings."

Sora sighed. "So you'd rather sit around appreciating your blenders than the people you're with?"

"Everyone in the van before Matt's dad figures out we took it!" Tai yelled from the doorway to the Ishida's apartment building as a parade of Digidestined followed him out.

"You didn't tell him?" TK asked his brother who simply shrugged.

"I did; he just happened to be listening to that Happy Buffalo tape again. What can I say, I have bad timing."

Everyone began piling into the car. Tai stole shotgun before anyone had a chance to argue, Matt climbed into the driver's seat, TK and Kari took the back followed by Izzy, and Mimi squeezed in beside Sora. This left Joe to stand alone and stare at the giant, slightly fuzzy suitcase that occupied an entire seat.

"Mimi, does that bag not fit in the trunk?" Joe asked.

She crossed her arms. "Why do you assume it's mine?"

"Your name is embroidered on the side… and it smells like grapefruits."

Matt wrinkled his nose. "Grapefruits have their own scent?"

"They smell like Florida!" Kari said.

"How would you even know that?" Tai asked.

"My bag only has essentials in it!" Mimi defended and leaned forward so she could see Joe over the massive suitcase. "Can't you sit on it or something?"

Joe's jaw dropped in a cartoonish manner. "Do you even know how many safety laws that would violate? Every passenger must sit in a seat with a seatbelt, facing forward and causing minimal disruption for the driver!"

"I don't think you sitting on a fluffy suitcase would disrupt my driving," Matt said with a slight smirk creeping into his amused smile.

"Not helping," Joe muttered as Sora turned to face Mimi.

"This is what I was talking about. Don't you think spending time with your friends is more important than bringing all your stuff? It only takes away from the experience."

Mimi frowned. "But what if we're not prepared for something? What if we need a blender?"

"Then we'll tough it out or go on a journey to find one."

Mimi looked around at her friends, all (more or less) patiently waiting to embark on their latest adventure. They'd been planning this trip for weeks, and she didn't want to spoil it by focusing on her electronics or making her stuff more important than her friends. Maybe having Joe there was more important than bringing her collection of champagne pink to fandango pink lip glosses.

"Alright, let me unpack," Mimi said and climbed out of the van to go pull her bag out, "But, uh, I'll need a little help."

"With?" Sora asked.

"Getting this suitcase out. I've spent all day making it fit through the door."

Eight sets of hands, a few kicks, and one pair of broken glasses later, Mimi was able to unpack her suitcase and make room for what really mattered.

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Thanks for reading :)


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